A quotation question tests whether a quoted line supports a claim, including the reason the claim gives. Start with the student’s claim and put it in a few words, keeping who it’s about and what it says caused what. Then split the claim into parts and predict what evidence would show their connection. Put each quotation in plain words so you can test that connection. Sharing the claim’s topic isn’t enough; the line must show the claimed cause and result.
Hints
- Hint 1
Start with the student’s claim after “In a paper.” What does it say about what mattered in his designs and why?
- Hint 2
Check the meaning of was shaped by. What connection does that phrase ask a quotation to show?
Step-by-step
Match the quotation to the whole claim
Step 1Split the claim
The student links emphasis on affordability to growing up in a family with limited resources. What must a quotation show to support that? Let’s split the claim into limited family money and how it shaped his focus on cost. We can predict a line where his childhood helps explain his later designs.
- Step 2
Check what the lines show
Which lines explain his emphasis on affordability? The line about sorption chemistry describes what’s inside the filters, while receiving a prestigious research grant explains his lab’s growth. The line about standard lab trials shows how well a filter works and how quickly it can be built. These details don’t show why he focused on cost, so they don’t support the student’s claim.
- Step 3
Find the link from childhood to cost
The line about a one-room apartment shows his parents repairing things instead of buying replacements. Where’s the link to his emphasis on affordability? Méndez says those habits guided him to use cheap, locally available parts, so his family’s ways of saving money shaped his low-cost designs. Choice A.